Is UK higher education heading for a digital future?
As predictions about the future course of Covid-19 continue to develop, the higher education policy world is considering the possibility of a higher education system that is fully online.
This would be a logical path for today’s policy makers to follow. An online degree provides the ultimate in flexibility and choice for students within a marketised system. Unlike the traditional campus-based model with its fixed overheads, there is plenty of potential for different models of delivery and greater competition between providers, which could drive real differential pricing for the first time since the introduction of tuition fees. It would also give students the opportunity to fit study around other commitments such as work, caring responsibilities or volunteering.
So after centuries of tradition is UK higher education set to move forward into a digital utopia? …